Top edge treating machine



June 20, 1939. w. P. oseooo TOP EDGE TREATI NG MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 1, 1957 June 20, 1939. w. P. oscsoon TOP EDGE TREATING MACHINE Filed March 1, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 20, 1939. ROSGOOD 2,162,965

TOP EDGE TREATING MACHINE Filed March 1, 19s? s Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 20, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIEE 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to machines for use in the manufacture of shoes and more particularly to machines for treating the topedge of a fitted shoe upper.

After the edge of the shoe upper, which is to constitute the top edge in the completed shoe, is finished in the skiving and folding operation it is subjected to the top-stitching operation in which the upper is provided with a lining. The

upper and the lining are secured together by a top seam which is spaced from the finished edge of the upper so that the attached lining may be trimmed to leave an edge undercut beneath the finished edge of the upper. The desideratum of the top-stitching operation is to line the upper properly while rendering the trimmed edge of the lining as inconspicuous as possible. But even when the top-stitching operation is performed accurately the trimmed edge of the lining renders the finished shoe unsightly when it is displayed, exposed to view, in the window of a retail. store or held in the hands of a prospective customer.

The principal object of the present invention is to produce a machine for treating the topedge of a fitted upper by which the exposed edge of the lining may be thinned, by which the finished edge of the upper may be bent downward to more effectively hide the thinned lining edge .30 and by which certain irregularities formed in the upper during the top-stitching operation may be ironed out.

To the accomplishment of this object, and such others as may appear hereinafter, the various features of the present invention reside in certain devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and then set forth broadly and in detail in the appended claims which possess advantages readily apparent to 0 those skilled in the art.

The various features of the present invention will be readily understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings illustrating the best form of the invention at present known to 5 the inventor, in which,

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of the topedge treating machine;

Fig. 2 is a View in right side sectional elevation;

50 Fig. 3 is a view in sectional plan on the line 33, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4' is an enlarged detail view illustrating the condition of the Work and the relationship of the rolls at the time the work is presented therebeu tween; 7

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view illustrating the condition of the finished work and the relationship of the rolls during the operation of the machine; I

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the front elevation of the gage, and r Fig; 7 is a detail view in right side elevation of the gage.

In the shoe industry, and particularly in the manufacture of mens shoes, the fitted upper, ready for the shoe assembling and bottoming operations, comprises an upper 8 (Fig. 4) and a lining 9 secured together, adjacent the finished edge, by a topseam 10. Prior to the top-seaming operation the edge of the upper, which is to constitute the top edge of the shoe, is skived and folded, as indicated in- Figs. 4 and 5. As a result of the top-seaming operation a depression is formed in the exposed face of the upper along the line of the top seam and the finished edge of the upper is tilted upwardly. 'The top-seaming operation thus imparts a' ragged, unfinished appearance to the exposed face of the upper at the'top-seam and causes the edge of the upper to expose unduly to view the edge of the lining.

In order to feather the edge of the lining, iron out the depressionin the exposed face of the upper at the top-seam, and bend the finished edge of the upper about the feathered lining edge, the illustrated embodiment of the invention isprovided with three work engaging instrumentalities, namely, an upper engaging roll H, a lining engaging roll I2, and a gage [3 (Fig. 1).

The roll H is provided with a frusto-conical upper engaging face M, the narrow base being directed forwardly and the broad base being directed rearwardly so that the face It at the bite of the rolls is directed downwardly and rearwardly.

The roll [2 is provided with a frusto-conical lining engaging face [5, the narrow base being directed rearwardly and the broad base being di-\,

rected forwardly so that the face l5 at the bite of the rolls is directed downwardly and rearwardly. As shown in Fig. 2 the faces l4 and [5, at the bite of the rolls, are not parallel but converge rearwardly and downwardly in order to form molding surfaces operating to feather the edge of the lining as indicated in Fig. 5 and iron out the irregularities resulting from. the topseaming operations. adjacent its broad base is provided with depressions 16 arranged diagonally across the face'in the line of feed.

As indicated in Figs. 4 and 5 the narrow base The portion of the face I5 of the lining engaging face I5 is spaced forwardly from the broad base of the upper engaging face M in order that the top or finished edge of the upper may be bent downwardly from the position of Fig. 4 to that of Fig, 5 about the feathered edge of the lining and thus hide it from view as much as possible.

The gage I3 is shaped to direct the untreated work to the bite of the rolls, to permit work having concave curvatures to be swung during the feed, to guide the edge of the lining during the treating operation and to clear the top or finished edge of the upper during the bending thereof.

To this end the bottom of the gage I3 is provided with a flange |8 (Figs. 6 and '7) which is supported from the carrier, to be described, for the lining engaging roll l2. A'portion of the front face of the gage |3 lies in a vertical plane and the left-hand side of this portion is cut away at IS in order that the lining engaging edge 20 of the gage may be located as close as practicable to the bite of the rolls, the construction being such that the face |5 just clears the front of the 54, gage I3 and the face |4 just clears the back of the gage. The gage I3 is provided with an ear 2| which is bent in a plurality of directions rearwardly and downwardly along a line extending between the points 22 and 23 (Fig. 6) and then wrforwardly and upwardly along a line extending between the points 22 and 24 (Fig. 7). This construction permits work having concave curvatures to be passed through the machine. It'also provides a well-defined groove between the points 3 22 and 24 (Fig. 7) to act as a track for guiding the finished edge of the upper over the top of the lining engaging surface 25.

The roll II is secured to the front end of a shaft 25 which is journaled in bearings carried by the frame 26. The shaft 25 is rotated from some suitable source of power in a conventional manner through a belt pulley mounted on the shaft.

The roll |2 is secured to the front end of a shaft 21 which is journaled in bearings 28 formed in a carrier 28' (Fig. 3). The carrier 28 is provided with lateral bosses 29 and 3|! each of which is provided with aconical cavity 3| which receives the conical end of a screw 32 secured to m the frame 26. With this construction the carrier 28 may rock upon the conical ends of the screws 32.

The front end of the carrier 28 is provided also with conical cavities (Fig. 1), which receive the 58 conical ends of screws 33 carried by a yoke 34 constituting, in effect, one link of a toggle (Fig. 2). The other link 35 of the toggle comprises a yoke which is rotatably mounted on a horizontal rod 36 carried by the frame 26. The floating pivot for the toggle links 34 and 35 is formed by a pair of conical ended screws 31 carried by the link 35 and arranged to engage conical cavities 38 formed respectively in the lateral sides of the .yoke 34.

In order to force the lower roll |2 upwardly towards the upper roll yieldingly the back face of the yoke 34 is provided with a pair of spaced arms 39 (Fig. 2) which support a hori- ;zontal rod 40 upon which a block 4| is pivotally 70 mounted. The block 4| receives the end of a screw-threaded rod 42 the other end of which is provided with a nut 43 threaded into the frame l5 and provided with a spring tension adjusting 'ihand wheel 44. Coiled around the rod 42 and interposed between collars 45 and 46 thereon is a spring 41.

In order to break the toggle and thus separate the rolls to facilitate the insertion and removal of the work therebetween, the link 35 is provided with an arm 48 which is pivotally connected to the upper end of a treadle-rod 49. The arm 48 is provided with an adjustable bolt 50 the upper end of which is arranged to engage the rod 46 and thus act as a stop to limit the upward movement of the roll l2 under the influence of the spring 41.

Heretofore, it has been proposed to treat the .top edge of a shoe by passing it through a machine provided with a pair of frusto-conical rolls having differential speeds but such machine met no commercial success owing to the difliculty of maintaining the work in position between the rolls. Experience demonstrated that the rolls tended to eject the work out of the machine.

In order to obviate this practical difficulty portions only of the peripheries of the rolls I! and I2 are driven at differential speeds with the result that the work is pressed uniformly against the gage |3 during the feed, there being no tendency of the rolls H and |2 to eject the work out of the machine; a

To this end, the shaft 25 is provided with a gear 5| which meshes with a gear 52 on the shaft 21. number of teeth than the gear 5| and in consequence the shaft 27 for the lining engaging roll I2 is driven at a higher peripheral speed than the shaft 25 for the upper engaging roll But the comrnon pitch diameter of the meshing gears 5| and 52, when extended, and no work is in the machine, meets the faces I4 and I5 intermediate the bases thereof and therefore the peripheries of the rolls H and I2 at these points of meetings are driven at the same speed.

The extended common pitch diameter is indicated by the lines A in Figs. 4 and 5, the lines 13 serving to indicate the portions of the peripheries of the rolls II and I2 which are driven at the same speed; Of course, lowering the roll I; to facilitate insertion of the work (Fig. 4) and the separation of the rolls H and I2 during the top-edge treating operation (Fig. 5) separates the lines A representing the common pitch diameter of the gears 5| and 52 but this is immaterial so long as the gears remain in mesh which they are permitted to do owing to the location of the pivots for the rocking carrier 28' relative to the gears 5| and 52.

While a portion only of the peripheries of the rolls II and i2 rotate at the same speed it will be clear from an inspection of Figs. 4 and 5 that the broad bases of the rolls H and I2 respectively, rotate at a higher peripheral .speed than the narrow bases of the rolls, respectively.

This provision for differential speed along the work engaging faces of the rolls H and |2 functions to maintain the edge of the lining in contact with the guiding edge 20 during the feed of the work and the swing of the work to maintain the edge of the lining in the line of feed. The provision of the depressions IS on the face l5 arranged diagonally across the line of feed functions also to maintain the edge of the lining in engagement with the gaging surface 20 on the gage l3.

From a comparison of Figs. 4 and 5 it will be apparent that the machine functions to feather the lining edge, to iron out the depression in the The gear 52 is provided with a larger exposed face of the upper caused by the top- 7 stitching operation and to bend the finished edge of the upper about the feathered edge of the lining. With this construction, the top edge of the fitted upper is treated in a manner to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the finished shoe when displayed for sale in the shop windows of a retail store or inspected in the hands of a prospective customer.

Nothing herein explained is to be interpreted as limiting the various features of the present invention in the scope of its application to use in connection with the particular machine or the particular mode of operation or any combination thereof selected for purposes of illustration and explanation. While the particulars of construction herein set forth are well suited to one mechanical form of the invention and to the uses to which it is put, it is not limited as to these uses, nor to these details of construction, nor to the conjoint use of all its features, nor is it to be understood that these particulars are essential since they may be modified within the skill of the artisan without departing from the true scope of the actual invention, characterizing features of which are set forth in the following claims by the intentional use of generic terms and expressions inclusive of various modifications.

What is claimed as new, is:

1. A top-edge treating machine having in combination, means engaging the lining adjacent the top seam, means engaging the upper adjacent the top seam, and mechanism for operating said means to feather the edge of the lining adjacent the top seam, and to bend the folded edge of the upper towards the adjacent plane of the feathered lining edge.

2. A top-edge treating machine having, in combination, means engaging the lining adjacent the top seam, means engaging the upper adjacent the top seam, and mechanism for operating said means to feather the edge of the lining adjacent the top seam and to iron out the depression formed in the exposed face of the upper during the top-stitching operation.

3. A top-edge treating machine having, in combination, means engaging the lining adjacent the top seam, means engaging the upper adjacent the top seam, and mechanism for operating said means to feather the edge of the lining adjacent the top seam, to iron out the depression formed in the exposed face of the upper during the topstitching operation, and to bend the folded edge of the upper towards the adjacent plane of the feathered lining edge.

4. A top-edge treating machine having, in combination, a roll having a frusto-conical pressing face to engage the lining, a roll having a frusto-conical pressing face to engage the upper, said rolls cooperating to press between them the fitted upper adjacent the top seam thereof, and a gage interposed between the narrow base of one of the rolls and the broad base of the other.

5. A top-edge treating machine having, in combination, a roll having a frusto-conical pressing face to engage the lining, a roll having a frustoconical pressing face to engage the upper, said rolls cooperating to press between them the fitted upper adjacent the top seam thereof, and a gage for the free end of the lining in back of the firstnamed roll and beneath the second-named roll.

6. A top-edge treating machine having, in combination, a roll having a frusto-conical pressing face to engage the lining, a roll having a frustoconical pressing face to engage the upper, said rolls cooperating to press between them the fitted upper adjacent the top seam. thereof, the broad base of the upper engaging face being associated with the narrow base of the lining engaging face, and means for driving a portion of each pressing face adjacent the broader base thereof at the same peripheral speed.

7. A top-edge treating machine having, in combination, a roll having a frusto-conical pressing face to engage the lining, a roll having a frustoconical pressing face to engage the upper, said rolls cooperating to press between them the fitted upper adjacent the top seam thereof, and means for driving a portion of the pressing faces at the same peripheral speed and other portions at differential peripheral speeds.

B. A top-edge treating machine having, in combination, a roll having a frusto-conical surface, a second roll having a frusto-conical surface, a shaft for each roll, and intermeshing gears having different numbers of teeth on the shafts for driving them at diiierent peripheral speeds, the extended common pitch diameter of the gears intersecting the frusto-conical surfaces between the broad and narrow bases thereof.

WALTER P. OSGOOD. 

